1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improving wind-driven electrical generating system, and more particularly, the invention is directed to an improved wind-driven mechanical-hydraulic-electrical generating system consisting of a post with guyed cable supports, a spinner cage mounted on a square wheel on a circular race, sail elements on the spinner cage, a swash plate mounted upon under side of spinner cage and providing an inclined work surface, a rocker arm mounted for vertical displacement and having upper and lower ends, a caster follower member mounted on an upper end of the rocker arm for engaging the swash plate as it rotates, a double acting hydraulic cylinder driven by the lower end, a hydraulic motor responsive to the double acting hydraulic cylinder, and an electric generator driven by the hydraulic motor to produce electric current, as more particularly and specifically described herein.
Basically, the invention is a windspinner electric generating system consisting of a main shaft sufficiently tall to allow a spinner to catch the wind above any nearby edifices, houses, trees, and the like. The main shaft is held firmly by guy lines anchored to a base which is attached to a concrete foundation. The spinner rotates around the main shaft revolving on bearings installed on the main shaft. The spinner is a cubic framework having specially constructed sails installed at each of four corners. As the wind strikes these sails the spinner rotates, carrying a swash plate beneath it which is set upon the wheels of four swivel casters. These casters are installed on the ends of two rocker arm assemblies which are swiveled on bearings installed on the main shaft. These two rocker arms are tied through connecting rods to two double acting hydraulic cylinders in a cabinet at the base. As the spinner turns, the swash plate imparts a reciprocating motion to the connecting rods which causes the hydraulic cylinders to pump fluid around a hydraulic circuit. This fluid passes through a hydraulic motor which is coupled to a jack shaft to drive one or more alternating current induction type generators. The fields of these generators are controlled so they may be connected into the alternating current network of the utility company so that the current which is cogenerated is in exact synchronization with the current which the company supplies. As the hydraulic fluid circulates, it also enters another hydraulic cylinder whose piston works against a permanent fixed gas pressure captured in the cylinder. When the hydraulic pressure rises above this fixed air pressure, it causes the piston and shaft of the hydraulic cylinder to begin to retract. This action closes a switch and connects the first generator into the utility lines so that it begins generating. As the wind rises, the hydraulic pressure increase, causing further retraction of the control cylinder and switches on other generators. As the wind speed declines, the hydraulic pressure drops and begins shutting down the generators to keep the system output in equilibrium with the input wind energy. When the wind energy is very low, as an example below 7 mph, the spinner may continue to rotate slowly but the hydraulic pressure may be too low to bring the generators in. This will prevent the generators from dropping down into motor speeds and use electric current instead of generating it. When the wind speed is above 40 to 50 mph it might tend to drive the generators into overspeed and overload. When the hydraulic pressure approaches this condition, the relief valve opens and bypasses some of the fluid back into the tank.
The speed of the entire system is fairly constant. In operation when the generators begin to approach overspeed, another generator is switched on which tends to slow down the system. With a proper selection of generator sizes, as one example, three generators, 1/2 HP, 2 HP and 5 HP will hold the standard spinner to a fairly constant speed up to 40 mph winds and produce approximately 5 KW at 25 mph windspeed at about 80% full load.
If wind speeds above 40 mph occur, usually gusts, the spinner will continue to gradually accelerate in speed but the output will remain at a constant maximum. The increased speed will not harm the spinner since these spinners have been tested to withstand winds up to, tornadic strength without any load connected.
In addition to its function as a control, the cylinder also acts as a ripple suppresser, absorbing or releasing fluid in the circuit when changes in entering fluid pressure occur.
The sail arrangement used in the spinner system cannot be classified as an airfoil although there is a slight tendency to act as an airfoil at certain moments in its rotation. It cannot be classified as a lift and drag system although there is a very slight drag at intervals in its rotation. Instead it operates more nearly like the sails on a ship which extract energy from the wind as it strikes the sail surface, turns and jets off of the farther edge. All four sails of the machine or apparatus are in the wind, whether front side or back side for roughly 80% of the orbit. The sail construction as well as its angle of approach causes a nose portion of the sail to be driven forward in the same direction whether it is moving away from the wind or forward into the wind. The only time this may not be true is when the rear sail is shaded by the front sail and which leaves only three sails in the wind. When the front and back sails come squarely into the wind, two of the others shut off. In neither of these cases is there loss of power. In fact, the formula A.times.0.0051.times.V3.times.Eff.= Watts, can be used to predict the output of the system, where
A=Area: height of sail.times.long axis of the spinner PA1 V3=wind velocity in mph, cubed PA1 0.0051=the power in watts applied to 1 square foot at 1 mph windspeed, and PA1 Eff.=efficiency of impellor in extracting applied energy.
This formula has shown the system of the invention to gain an efficiency of around 40% which is considered very good for any wind-driven propeller of any configuration.
The angular improvement of the sail operation over similar machines is that the sails may remain in fixed position on the impellor by hanging the sails on a square shaped base instead of a round wheel structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art patents or known prior uses teach and disclose various types of wind-driven energy conversion generating systems or devices of sorts; and various manufactures and the like, as well as methods of their construction, are found to be known and exemplary of the following U.S. prior patent art:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 4,048,947 C. A. Sicard 4,129,787 F. N. Palma 4,248,568 W. L. Lechner 4,494,007 E. E. Gaston 4,527,950 L. I. Biscomb 4,545,729 J. Storm ______________________________________
Gaston shows a wind machine for generating power in which the machine uses a feathering vane controlling a sprocket assembly for changing the orientation of blades, a damper for avoiding excessive speeds due to gusts of wind, and an induction generator driven to produce current output.
Lechner merely shows a rotor blade arrangement and controller restraint means for individual blades of the rotor which are entirely practical and automatic in operation regardless of wind direction, so as to assure rotor startup and continued rotation in the same direction when wind is impinging on the rotor from any point on the compass.
In Storm is disclosed a circular shaped wind turbine apparatus having a plurality of sail elements secured to a circular frame rotatable in response to wind acting on the sail elements, each of which respond to wind velocity; and Palma discloses a triangular shaped wind turbine with fixed and pivoted blades attached to a revolving ring base performing as an armature of an energy converter with a current output.
Sicard teaches use of a rotary device driven by a moving fluid such as water or air which can be used to drive any appropriate device such as a pump, an electric generator or a screw, and Biscomb similarly teaches a wind motor.
Historically there have been two major classifications of wind turbines; one, the airfoil impellors such as the propeller or the Darrieus eggbeater and two, the lift and drag impellors such as the Sibelius vertical axis turbine or the windcup used to measure wind velocities. Of the two systems, the airfoils are generally considered to be much superior because of their higher speeds and greater efficiency. However, a use of the airfoils have the disadvantage of reaching such high speed velocity in heavy winds that they will self-destruct if not feathered down or shut off in high winds. This makes them much more expensive to manufacture or much less efficient when they must be shut down. In addition, most airfoils are one-dimensional and the only way their output can be increased is by lengthening them in the one dimension. Lift and drag systems, on the other hand, are much more reliable in high winds but are very inefficient in lower winds because of the drag working against the back of the cup offsetting much of the life working against the face of the cup. Many systems have been devised to minimize this drag but have been generally unsuccessful because of their higher cost and excessive triggerwork. However, a third classification has been used for centuries to drive sailing ships in any directions by altering the attitude (altitude) of the sails to the wind. This, too, has been widely experimented with in the operation of wind-driven impellors but has also been largely unsuccessful because of costs and triggerwork. Several examples of this class of impellor were found in the above patents.
These patents or known uses teach and disclose various types of wind-driven energy conversion generating systems or devices, but none of them whether taken singly or in combination disclose the specific details of the combination of the invention in such a way as to bear upon the claims of the present invention.